A Guide to Self-Rescue in the Cultivation World - Chapter 33

The Chengxian Dao is located near Huanwang City in the Southern Border. This region is far from the Emperor and separated by high mountains, making the area spiritually abundant, with a simple yet rich nightlife.

Zhou Suyao’s group quickly found a delicately decorated inn. Upon entering, Zhou Zonglan put on airs and grandly waved his hand: “We’ll take two of your best rooms!”

“Two?” 

Zhou Suyao asked. “Who am I rooming with?

Naturally, you’ll share with Eldest Senior Brother,  Zhou Zonglan blinked. After all, as our Little Junior Sister who needs the most protection, it’s only right for you to stay with our most formidable Eldest Senior Brother.

“Say less,” 

Qu Mingwu muttered gloomily from behind him. “Suyao’s combat strength is already far above yours.

The two high-grade rooms were located at opposite ends of the inn’s top floor. After reaching the top, the four said their goodbyes in pairs and headed to their respective rooms.

As they parted, Zhou Zonglan clung to Second Senior Brother’s sleeve, chattering away. His voice drifted over, containing vague phrases like “You don’t understand” and “You really have no romance.”

Zhou Suyao didn’t know what they were talking about, but her cheeks felt warm.

She followed Eldest Senior Brother until they reached their door.

In front of her, Eldest Senior Brother opened the door, set down the luggage, and then turned to her: “I had the bellhop prepare hot water for you. You take a bath first. I need to go out for a while.”

Zhou Suyao was momentarily stunned. She had been following Eldest Senior Brother the whole time and had no idea when he had arranged everything for her. After a moment, she recovered and said softly, “Okay.”

Seeing her bewildered look, Zhou Shan Yuan smiled. He stepped forward, intending to pat her head, but she stiffened her neck. He instantly realized how improper his intended gesture was and hastily withdrew his hand, instructing her: “If I’m not back after you’ve bathed, just go to bed early. Don’t wait up for me.”

After giving Zhou Suyao his instructions, he slowly left the room. He remembered that the last time he was in this area with Zhou Zonglan, his Third Senior Brother had mentioned a pastry shop in Huanwang City’s night market. It had many varieties and delicious flavors. The Osmanthus Cake alone came in sweet, slightly sweet, unsweetened, and unsweetened with honey.

The peach blossom cake and wine he had made earlier were too sweet for Little Junior Sister. This shop had many flavors. He would buy a little of each and bring them back for her to try.

If he found one Little Junior Sister liked, he would study it carefully and make more for her when they returned to the Chengxian Dao.

With that thought, he left the inn and followed the crowds toward the night market.

Perhaps it was a significant holiday, but almost everyone in the bustling crowd was wearing masks of various shapes.

Ox-headed demons, snake spirits, green-fanged ghost faces.

Perhaps the noise was too great, as he failed to notice a few dark figures approaching him from not far away.

Until he reached a dark alley.

His ear twitched, hearing the faint rustle of clothing in the wind.

“It’s you, as expected.”

He closed his eyes briefly but did not attempt to dodge.

Hearing his words, the figures on the roof eaves jumped down. They were dressed in black, tightly fitted clothes, wearing ghost masks similar to those of the crowd.

Seeing them, Zhou Shan Yuan sighed faintly and said softly, “Is it Jiang Luan again?”

“Naturally,” the leader replied. “Lord Jiang’s predictions have never been wrong. He calculated that your group would arrive here today and that you would go out shopping for your Little Junior Sister. He specifically ordered us to wait here.”

“Alright,” Zhou Shan Yuan shrugged. “If that’s the reason this time, then the last time you attacked my Little Junior Sister, what prediction did you act on?”

The last time

The leader shook his head. “Last time, we were not attacking Zhou Suyao, but Ming Luo. We could have killed Ming Luo directly, but alas, there was the variable of Zhou Suyao.”

“Ming Luo is the mortal body of the Female Yin. If she is not destroyed, the Spiritual Dao’s curse against refining mortals will forever remain, and soon the Spiritual Dao will be devoured by the Human Dao.”

“Xun Dan, do not forget your mission in the mortal realm.”

“A hundred years ago, you failed to destroy Ning Qinggui’s soul, forcing the Three Dao Flowers to return to the world. You knew the harm, yet you softened and let Ning Qinggui’s soul go. If Lord Jiang hadn’t pleaded for you, you would have been cast down into the Animal Dao for countless reincarnations. This time, you must kill Ming Luo, destroy her soul, and prevent the Female Yin’s mortal body from descending into the world again.”

“As for Zhou Suyao, she is a variable. Lord Jiang has made multiple predictions, yet he cannot foresee her future. To be safe, you would do well to kill her.”

“Xun Dan, Lord Jiang sent us to the mortal realm for no other reason. We cannot interfere with mortal karma. You ascended less than a thousand years ago, and your connection to the dust of the world is all that remains of our Spiritual Dao’s last hope.”

“Lord Jiang instructed us to tell you: Do not soften again, and do not be swayed by anyone else.“

With that, the figures vanished instantly, leaving only a piece of green jade pendant behind.

He walked over and picked up the jade. Seeing the characters engraved on it, his pupils constricted.

Zijin.

This was the given name of his birth mother.

After his father’s ascension, he had always carried this jade pendant close to his body. Even when he was forced to marry the Heavenly Emperor’s daughter, he kept the pendant hidden, never parting with it for thousands of years.

Now… for it to appear here…

His eyes instantly turned red, and the mask of gentleness finally cracked.

These so-called Spiritual Dao Lords were using his father’s life as leverage to force him into obedient servitude.

He hated it!

He hated these so-called Spiritual Dao Lords, and he hated his own powerlessness to resist.

He hated his own weakness even more.

He tightly grasped the jade pendant, his teeth clenched so hard that it felt like bl00d would seep out.

But only this pain could make him realize that he was still alive.

That he was still living as a human being.

And had not fully become a puppet of the Spiritual Dao.

After her bath, Zhou Suyao leaned by the window, letting her hair dry while searching the busy street below for her Eldest Senior Brother’s figure.

She waited until her hair was completely dry, but still, Eldest Senior Brother hadn’t returned.

She felt a little worried, but recalling the cultivation he displayed when he rescued her, she couldn’t help but look down and smile.

After all, it wasn’t her place, as a little rookie, to worry about Eldest Senior Brother.

There were two beds in the room, separated by a screen—originally, there was no screen, but the bellhop said that a young man had specifically requested it.

Zhou Suyao knew the “young man” the bellhop spoke of must have been Eldest Senior Brother.

When a person is idle, their thoughts wander.

She suddenly thought of Eldest Senior Brother again.

She thought of his focused profile while grinding flower petals, his cool fingertip as he brought the peach blossom cake to her lips, and…

And his golden eyes.

It wasn’t an ordinary gold, but a somewhat dazzling, brilliant gold.

He looked like an exiled immortal, yet he seemed to hide many unspeakable secrets.

“But,” she thought.

The demon race’s resentment wasn’t directed at Eldest Senior Brother. Perhaps the person from a hundred years ago wasn’t him, or perhaps the demon race didn’t hate him.

Regardless.

The Eldest Senior Brother had never done anything to hurt her. Before she transmigrated, she had no family and had never experienced such care. If she could live like this forever, it would be wonderful.

Thinking this, she curled up the blanket, wrapped herself tightly, and settled into the most comfortable position.

Outside the window, the rain was coming down, a steady drizzle. It sounded like it had started to rain.

Did Eldest Senior Brother bring an umbrella when he went out? If not, wouldn’t he get wet?

But his magic is so powerful; he certainly wouldn’t let himself catch a cold.

Later that night, a light rain fell.

Zhou Shan Yuan dared not disturb his Little Junior Sister’s rest, so he simply cleaned up in the inn’s downstairs bathhouse before going up to the room.

The room was extremely quiet, with only the patter of rain outside the window and Zhou Suyao’s steady breathing.

He quietly placed the peach blossom cake on the cabinet facing the bed so Suyao would see it as soon as she woke up.

It had started raining on his way back. He protected the peach blossom cake in his arms, not letting a single drop touch it, even though his own clothes were soaked.

The thought of Little Junior Sister’s excited expression when she woke up in the morning made him smile.

The foul mood caused by the men in black seemed to clear up a great deal in that moment.

He quietly removed his outer robe and lay down on his bed.

His eyelids felt heavy, yet he dared not sleep.

He turned slightly to look at the vague silhouette behind the screen.

She seemed to be sleeping soundly, her chest rising and falling rhythmically.

He couldn’t see her face, yet he stared at her figure as if entranced.

Jiang Luan had once instructed him that if he ever used power beyond his own limit, he must immediately feign death and escape, under no circumstances allowing the mortals to discover his true identity.

When Little Junior Sister was deep in the Underworld, he had intended to use the Spell of Star Shift to teleport them out directly, but remembering Jiang Luan’s warning, in a moment of desperation, he gritted his teeth and self-detonated his spiritual elixir to gain immense power and rescue them.

When Jiang Luan found out, he was so furious that he nearly came to the mortal realm to find him, but because Zhou Shan Yuan had ascended years ago and severed his karma with the mortal world, Jiang Luan could only send a message to fiercely scold him.

“Do you know the consequences of self-detonating your spiritual elixir?! You may not even be able to return to the Spiritual Dao. You’ll become the most ordinary cultivator in the mortal realm… No! By mortal reckoning, you would have already died a thousand lifetimes ago! If the other Lords strip you of your divine status, you will instantly turn to ash, without even the chance to become a wandering ghost!”

Although the messaging artifact clamored in his ear, Zhou Shan Yuan remained unaffected. He sat in a chair, swaying gently, his teacup empty, yet he seemed lost in thought.

Recalling it now, he couldn’t remember what he was thinking, but it was probably…

He looked at the screen, his gaze fixed on the person behind it.

He must have been thinking that day… that it was good he didn’t have to feign death, that he could stay at the Chengxian Dao a little longer, that he could… spend a little more time with Little Junior Sister.

The rainy night was dim.

His eyes ached, but he was unwilling to close them.

He stared at the blurred figure behind the screen, as if the moment he closed his eyes, everything around him would instantly turn into a dream and vanish.

His back was covered in a fine sweat. His body was tense, as if consumed by a fever.

His lower body ached.

Realizing the change in his body, he suddenly shut his eyes tightly, trying to extinguish the improper desire within his heart.

Don’t think… don’t look…

He was the Eldest Senior Brother, the person she trusted most…

He absolutely must not harbor such filthy thoughts towards her.

His mind commanded this, but his hand involuntarily moved down.

The moment his fingers met the searing heat, he abruptly woke up again.

He forcefully resisted his own desire.

“No, absolutely not…”

He kept his eyes squeezed shut.

“Zhou Shan Yuan… you absolutely cannot… cross the line.”

Zhou Suyao would never accept it.

Heaven and Earth… would not tolerate it…

Outside the window, the rain was a cacophony, much like the chaotic, tangled threads of his heart.

He knew he shouldn’t cross the line, yet his heart desperately longed to lose control and commit some outrageous, world-shattering act.

In fact, the plan to take Zhou Suyao out for sightseeing was his idea for Master.

That day, he didn’t know what possessed him, but he barged into the Master’s room while he was cultivating and announced that he wanted to take Little Junior Sister out for a trip.

“Suyao hasn’t traveled since she came to the Chengxian Dao. Zonglan, at least, I’ve taken out to slay demons. Letting Suyao see the world will prevent her from getting flustered during the Sect Assessment.”

“That may be true, but Suyao hasn’t fully recovered. Taking her out now, wouldn’t that be…” Master frowned deeply.

“Master,” Zhou Shan Yuan interrupted him, “you can rest assured. With me here, Little Junior Sister won’t suffer a single bit of harm.”

It took a long time, but he finally convinced Master. Just as he thanked Master and was about to leave, Master suddenly called him back.

“Take Mingwu and Zonglan with you. They don’t go out much, either.”

“But…” Zhou Shan Yuan instinctively protested. “If all of us leave, Master, you’ll be guarding the sect alone. What if a dangerous situation arises?”

Master waved his hand, returning to his usual lackadaisical expression, and said slowly, “With your Master here, what are you worried about?”

“You’re right,”

 Zhou Shan Yuan paused, then said slowly.

Leaving the Master’s room, he shrugged and quietly muttered to himself, “Actually, I’m quite worried.”

With that, he bit his finger and slowly drew a talisman on the ground.

An invisible barrier instantly enveloped the Chengxian Dao.

Recalling it now, the corner of Zhou Shan Yuan’s mouth couldn’t help but curve up.

These days for him were ordinary, yet they were the most precious moments of his thousands of years of existence.